Sunday 16 December 2007

A Historic Day

It was Miles' CBT test today......... and his SymJet scooter was still in pieces!

Droppped him off this morning at 8.00 for his training, and then into the garage to get it finished!

Rear brake lever was broken and Mr Sym has not despatched the new one yet! So....... what to do...... an hour's messing around with metal and a bracket was fabricated as a (very much ) temporary measure.

All the plastic fantastic body work is a bit battered....... previous owner seemed to have bounced every panel off the road at some point! So....... trusty cable ties here and there and its all back on again...... reasonably solid as well!

A new set of bulbs, and we're about there! Oops!!!!!!!!!!!!! well............ except for L plates for the boy wonder! A trip to Halfords and we're all sorted

So...... except for a few odd bits and bobs - its safe and sound for the road.......... needs some prettying up here and there but I doubt it will be standing still for long if Miles has his way!

Anyways... picked him up at 5.30, with a huge smile on his face and a CBT certificate in his hand!

6.30pm and I'm on my GP225 proudly following my son down the road on his very own scooter!

Happy Days.........

Saturday 1 December 2007

no progress!

hhmmmm... Well work has been very busy the last couple of weeks, and my son turned 16 so all my spare time has been spent trying to get a 50cc Symjet up and running for the young fella.

We managed to get it for peanuts.... cosmetically its a little battered and bruised, with a rare selection of cable ties holding the plastic fantastic body work in place. But on the positive side it came with 8 months tax and mot , although it has been stood since last MOT and would not start. A full strip of the carb, pouring a little petrol straight into the cylinder, recharging the battery, and it started!

Its very very temperamental to start though! One minute its tickety boo, then the next bloody thing won't start. Theres a new carb and choke mechanism on its way from fleabay, so that may cure it - i have a sneaking suspicion its the auto choke at the centre of the starting issues.

Anyways............... once carb, and new throttle cable / oil cable arrive it will up be back together and young Miles will be off to do his CBT!

So................. back to the Lambretta - once the auto is done then it will be serious progress with a bit of luck on the Lambretta!

First job is to source a carb as the one which came alongwith the engine is not actually the right one! Its a 30mm Mikuni, so it will be on Ebay with a spare manifold, and we'll see how much it goes for, as that will dictate budget for a new one!

The electronic ignition on the motor is a bit of a puzzler, I'm not famliar with Vespas, but apparently its a considerably lightened T5 ignition. I'm going to have to make up some form of holding tool though as there is just a single hole about 10mm diameter to hold it! Oh, and no apparent timing marks! So I have no diea where the timing is currently set - so thats gonna be fun. Probably have to invest in a strobe !

Digging around underneath my work bench revealed some virtually new powder coated rims, so they have been set aside in readiness for the race bike. My road bike is being treated to some stainless rims for next year, so the current rims will be going to the race project as well!

More soon!

Saturday 10 November 2007

The Frame

The frame for this project will be an Indian GP which I bought a few years ago with the intention of restoring. Unfortunately I had no import papers with it so it was just too much hassle.

So..... as it was just languishing in the corner I thought it was about time I got on and used it for something or other!

A small amount of welding will be needed, and its already virtually prepared for painting, so it makes an ideal start to the budget race bike project.

The forks will need a bit more attention though, as they are a bit worse for wear. So I'll see if i can find any alternatives first, and if not will have to set to and get them sorted out

Andrew Sharkey (Sharkman) has donated a fibreglass front mudguard, and some fibreglass panels on their way from Carl Neath at the BSSO AGM, thanks guys fr the donations to the cause!

Only main piece of bodywork I need is the Legshields, so the hunt is still on for them!

Thursday 8 November 2007

First Post

The idea of this blog is to document the process of building and racing a 200cc Group4 Lambretta Scooter, in the BSSO UK ScooterRacing Championship.

After a 12-13 year 'retirement' from racing, getting involved in setting up the BSSO Scooter Racing forum and taking over the website in 2007 has rekindled my interest in racing. So...... very much on a budget I intend going to play scooter racing in 2008!

This blog will hopefully document the ups (and inevitably downs) of the process of building the scooter, applying for a race licence, and actually returning to the track.

More information on racing can be found at www.scooterracing.org.uk and www.fastscooter.co.uk

Here We Go......


So....... first entry in the (ageing) Lambretta Racers blog

The intention is to document the process of building a Lambretta Group 4 200cc Race Scooter .

After a 'retirement' lasting 12-13 years I've been drawn back in to the thought of playing racing scooters. The BSSO organise scooter racing in the UK, and I intend to race in their 2008 series. It's hardly going to be a full blown championship assault(!) just enter a few races during the year - the only intention is to try not to come last!

This blog will hopefully highlight the ups and undoubted downs of the process of building a racing scooter ( on a budget ) and then applying for a race licence and then actually getting out on the track!